


Risk It All For This Brand New Day

by UnkindledAsh



Category: Wild ARMs 3
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gender Dysphoria, Internalized Transphobia, Maya is an idiot, Post-Canon, Trans Female Character, Trans Maya Schröedinger, Virginia is horny, because i'm an idiot, no beta we die like every boss after you get Finest Arts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:14:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26052508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnkindledAsh/pseuds/UnkindledAsh
Summary: Maya Schröedinger and Virginia Maxwell set off together to see Filgaia as it heals sometime after the defeat of Hyades. At the end of a long day of traveling, Maya decides that she would like to take their relationship further but then she remembers that would mean telling Virginia exactly why she hates her default form so much.Content warning for some pretty hurtful internalized transphobia. She's working on it.
Relationships: Virginia Maxwell/Maya Schröedinger
Kudos: 5





	Risk It All For This Brand New Day

Maya Schröedinger strode confidently up to the steps of the inn that she and Virginia Maxwell were going to spend the night at. She stood for a moment at the bottom of the steps and surveyed the two-story wooden building. In all honesty, it was just a glorified house. Still, she realized she was being judgmental again and shrugged. Ginny was trying to get her to work on that, so she reminded herself that while it might not match up to the Schröedinger family homestead, she was at least welcome here. She wondered briefly how her brother Alfred was doing after the family went their separate ways. Todd would take care of him but she missed him all the same.

Her wandering mind was brought back to the present by a large, heavy raindrop hitting her right on the nose. She’d noticed clouds gathering, but she still wasn’t totally used to it just raining casually. It was only a few months ago that the wasteland had started to recede. She was glad to be under a roof for tonight if it was going to be pouring. This was but one of several small towns - really more a glorified waystation - that had sprung up in newly-verdant areas, in this case it was situated on the formerly-arid peninsula south of Yggdrasil, not far from where Sunset Peak station was. Supposedly, Jet had been doing work not far from here, which she guessed was why Ginny wanted to swing by. Maya, for her part, was just happy to be with the woman she loved (not that she’d said as much, though she imagined Virginia had figured it out regardless). She looked back at Virginia, who was tying the horses up a ways away. She waved to catch Ginny’s attention and pointed at the sky. She saw a quick wave from her girlfr- her travelling partner. That was enough to let her know that Ginny would deal with the horses and she should pay for their stay. At times like this Maya definitely missed Todd’s ability at setting up camp. He was a bizarre guy but he certainly knew how to make wasteland living a treat on the cheap. Maya shook her head to escape thoughts of the past and pushed through the door. 

She looked at the counter intently. It was set up like any other inn on Filgaia but it always paid to check. The attendant was bored - a good sign. Tenseness was a sign there was trouble brewing. He had both hands on the counter and a vacant stare, also good. Nobody expecting trouble keeps hands away from their weapon and their eyes away from the place where enemies might enter. Maya dismissed her paranoia. She wasn’t a gem thief anymore and the world wasn't the same hardscrabble hell it had been, she was just wandering through peaceful prairies with her girlfriend. Girlfriend. That word stuck in her thoughts. Not only had she and Virginia not totally agreed on what they were but the thought of having a female romantic companion elicited memories of her father unbidden. If he could see her now- well if he could see her he’d probably die again from rage-induced aneurysm. But he’d be sure to make some snide comment about her being - no, no more of that. Maya didn’t have time to let a memory of her father victimize her again so she shouldered past her doubts about herself and addressed the boy behind the counter. After a false start trying to form her words, she decided to take a different approach and dropped a wad of bills on the counter and looked him dead in the eye. “I’d like a room with one bed. I know you have vacancies and-”

“Of course ma’am!” the boy behind the desk chirped. He was clearly happy to have any kind of human contact, possibly for the first time all day. “Will you be staying with your travelling companion?” He gestured vaguely out the window at Ginny wrangling the horses towards the stables.

“Y-yeah.” Maya stuttered before turning back to him with renewed assertiveness, “and will stabling cost anything extra?”

“Even if it did, that amount you dropped just paid for a month. Plus meals! Are you… on the run?!” He asked that last question with a little too much eagerness. This boy had read a few dime novels.

Maya couldn’t help but laugh. She decided to play up the character, “No, but a Drifter never drops her habits. Last folk who fixed to see me dead found that they weren’t up to snuff.” She wasn’t totally wrong. Siegfried and his weirdo followers wanted her and Virginia dead. Virginia and her friends saw to that, but this boy didn’t need to know that the great Maya Schröedinger hadn’t rescued herself. Fortunately, a wink and a nod after that was as far as the conversation proceeded before the starstruck boy handed Maya her key and Virginia joined them with a casual wave as though she wasn’t one of the 10 deadliest gunslingers on Filgaia at that very moment. Maya flashed their key and motioned upstairs. They quietly tromped up the stairs and, when they reached their room, Maya regretted her forwardness. She and Virginia hadn’t slept together in one bed until now. “Fuck.” Maya swore under her breath, as though she might try to make it better. They’d of course shared a tent but that was different because they remained clothed. And also, Maya could just stay transformed when they were on the road, which precluded Virginia seeing anything… uncomfortable.

Maya opened the door and turned to see Virginia’s face, which was contorted into a knowing grin as she purred “Ohhhh Maya I was wondering when we’d get to enjoy our privacy.” She was taken aback by Ginny’s enthusiasm. She’d been so wrapped up in assuming she was a disgusting pervert that she hadn’t even stopped to consider that Virginia might actually want this. Her ears felt hot and she could tell she was blushing now.

“I uh- so you’re not mad…?”

“No, of course I’m not! Also do you know that you’re just so cute when you’re flustered? I’ve gotta tease you more~.” 

Maya could only blush harder at that. Before she could reply, Virginia gasped and exclaimed “And a SHOWER! Oh, Maya Schröedinger you have done well.” She barged into the room, tossed her bags to the side and face planted onto the bed giggling. They had been roughing it recently. Maya followed her in, closing the door. She took a deep breath and relaxed a little. Until she started travelling with Virginia, she hadn't realized how exhausting it was to put on a persona 24/7 nor had she realized how nice it was to just let the mask slip and be vulnerable. After a couple of moments, Virginia turned over and sat up on the bed. 

“Hey Maya,” Virginia began, “Why do you never change back to sleep?”

Maya went cold. There were downsides to vulnerability. She knew this would happen eventually. She tried to open her mouth to say something, but it was dry. She had been travelling with Virginia for months at this point, and literally every night she tried to say something but the lump in her throat choked out any bravery she’d managed to summon. “I just like how it looks,” was all Maya could muster as a reply.

“Well, yeah. I get that. I get into gunfights in petticoats. Intentionally!” She replied, punctuated with a giggle from the joke at her own expense. “But, it’s all an illusion. I mean, you know I’ve seen what you actually look like so there’s no need to keep a front up around me.”

Maya thought back to Siegfried stripping her of her powers during the raid on the demons’ base and how exposed she’d felt. She might not have actually been horribly mutated like his lackeys, but she definitely felt that way deep down. When she couldn't become someone else, something more than a girl born wrong who reads too much, she felt so naked and powerless. But she also remembered Virginia rescuing her. It was the beginning of her realizing she had fallen for the plucky, bright Drifter in the purple dress. Maya sighed. She'd have to tell Virginia the truth. “Ginny, I keep the illusion up because I hate who I am underneath. You don’t understand. I was born a b-” She choked on the word “boy,” and Ginny had clearly not picked up what the next word was because she’d tilted her head in an unconscious display of confusion. “I can’t get the words out, so can I just show you?” Virginia nodded slowly at that, uncertain of what Maya meant. She'd made it clear she was excited to have Maya to herself but Maya needed to make this clear before they got started.

The unstoppable Drifter and jewel thief Maya Schröedinger dropped her go-to form of a brash gunslinger to reveal the shy, bookish, bespectacled girl underneath. She was unspeakably tense as she fumbled with the buttons of her jacket. Virginia could see she was struggling. She interjected with as much kindness as her voice could muster, “hey, this is clearly really hurting you. I don’t mind if you don’t want to show me whatever it is. I understand that it’s important to you, but I really doubt it’d change the fact that you’re the woman I’ve fallen head over heels for.” The gentle encouragement renewed Maya’s resolve. But some part of her also felt that she had to do this to give Ginny the chance to leave. But another, smaller part somewhere even further down hoped against hope that she wouldn’t have to give up this first, magical bit of happiness she’d felt since her father discovered her secret. 

“I’ve got to do this. We’ve been huddled together I don’t know how many times at this point and I feel like I’ve been using my abilities to hide myself from you. I’m going to show you what I really look like, if that’s ok.” 

Virginia nodded mutely before adding, “You’ve seen me in my underthings at this point, it’s only fair.”

Maya nodded in return, removing her plain brown jacket and tossing it aside. She immediately moved to removing her high-collared blouse. The nanomachines - she thought that’s what Werner had called them - had mercifully been subtly changing what parts of her body they could for the last few years. As a result, she wasn’t worried about anything above her waist. However, it seemed that there wasn’t much the nanomachines could do to her… that. They only seemed capable of very subtle, slow changes. By the time she escaped her thoughts, she was pulling off her blouse to toss it with the jacket. She had a camisole underneath which was enough for her true form’s regrettably small breasts. She much preferred the uncontainable femininity she felt in her Calamity Jane persona’s large bust. However, even her small breasts and wiry frame elicited a luminescent blush from Virginia, which the normally undaunted Drifter was badly hiding behind her hands. Maya smiled a little, the cute sight helping to steel her for the terrifying next step. Ginny’s reaction to this was everything. She slowly slid her skirt off with trepidation. Maya knew painfully well that her plain white panties did nothing to hide her cock, which she could no longer deal with by tucking anymore as it was too small. In some ways, the nanomachines were a double-edged sword. As she stepped out of the discarded skirt's waistband, she noticed Virginia was still determinedly looking at Maya’s face in a desperate attempt to preserve modesty and decorum. Maya let out a heavy sigh and, looking away to barely hide her own hot, embarrassed blush, gestured to the rest of her body to draw Virginia’s eyes. She couldn’t bear to watch her lover take her in.

After a couple tense, silent seconds, Maya heard a soft intake of breath and a simple, surprised, “oh,” escape Virginia’s lips. The shame and fear began to erupt up from the pit of Maya’s stomach. She was afraid she might actually vomit from the anxiety and began shaking, covering her chest futilely by instinct. Or maybe it was a hug to steady herself. That “oh” was so noncommittal that she just had to wait here breathlessly for Virginia to tip her hand, although Maya had a feeling she knew how the cards would fal- “It’s ADORABLE!” Virginia yelped, breaking Maya’s spiraling thoughts.

At this, Maya snapped her attention on Virginia, who was currently covering her mouth as though she’d seen a puppy do something exceedingly cute. The reaction was definitely genuine, as her eyes sparkled as though they could produce their own light. This was perhaps the only reaction Maya wasn’t ready for. “D-did you just say my dick was cute?”

Virginia gasped and immediately words began tumbling out clearly faster than she was processing her thoughts, “Oh no I’m sorry was that the wrong thing to say?! It just- it is! You look so cute in that white underwear and I can’t believe you felt you had to hide this from me!” She punctuated that last thought by gesturing vaguely to Maya’s body. “I mean, don’t get me wrong I love your usual style but- wait oh no it was definitely the wrong thing to say I’m so, so sorry! Dammit, Virginia…” Virginia trailed off as Maya became aware she was crying. Maya could only laugh through the tears and fling herself at her love seated on the bed. She landed perfectly on Virginia, bowling her over and comfortably nestling her head on the surprised girl’s chest. She’d read dozens of scenes like this (well, maybe never exactly like this…) and had always wanted to do that.

“Nothing you could have said was wrong because you’d be the one saying it.” Maya tried to put on a mock-smooth affect, but the whole crying thing made it difficult to project anything with dignity to it. “But seriously, I thought I was ready for anything you could say in response. I’ve been trying to tell you since we set off together and couldn’t get the words out. I was really scared you’d be disgusted with me. I guess the only thing I wasn't ready for was you actually… liking me.”

“Awwww, Maya,” cooed Virginia as she held Maya closer, “I’m really sorry you felt like you couldn’t tell me but none of that changes who you are- who I fell in love with. It clearly is something that causes you a lot of pain, so I might not get everything right the first time but I love you. No, I guess it’s more that I love you. I want to make you happy and I’ll try my best. Just promise you’ll try and tell me if I do or say something that makes you uncomfortable?”

Maya wasn’t used to being vulnerable but it felt nice when she could share this vulnerability with someone who would never use it against her. She nodded, saying “Of course. I- I love you too.” She couldn’t help but grin madly at finally saying that before burying her face into Virginia’s soft travelling clothes to hide her blush.

“Hey Maya, I’m really happy for us but can I go shower and change into my sleep clothes before you get too comfortable?” Maya realized that she was sort of dangling off the bed and that Virginia was also sprawled in an uncomfortable-looking way. She dragged herself up quickly with an awkward laugh and laid back down once Virginia was up. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve this twist in her story, but she was going to have to get used to implicit, unconditional love.

**Author's Note:**

> I recently replayed WA3 on the PS4 and realized how much I related to Maya. A few lines she has talking to Siegfried about her real form and her powers immediately made me want to write a trans headcanon for her. Because let's be real, how many of us trans folks really wanted to escape dysphoria by literally becoming our favorite characters from books/comics/whatever? That, combined with her blatant tsundere fixation on Virginia created this. If you're mad she's not being her canon-level of feisty here, don't worry. I plan to write more of these two and, as Maya says, she's really only like this around Virginia because she's just not used to feeling like she can be vulnerable around people. Not that I relate to that or anything...
> 
> Anyway I plan on writing a bunch more of this both explaining how the two of them reunited and just seeing what changes might happen after the ending. Also they're gonna fuck so like I'm definitely writing that next.


End file.
